Another Graphie bites the dust

[Friendly]

http://www.drf.com/news/article/40534.html

[TGJB]

Hey Jim--I was wondering if you could check something out for me. There\'s a pretty strong rumor going around that Ragozin\'s Florida ground guy only comes to the track 3-4 times a week, and recently didn\'t come for a week or two. Now, as you and I both know, he can do the job via T.V.--but you seemed very disturbed that our trackman was doing that (far less frequently), so I figure you\'d want to check it out, clear thinking non-partisan that you are. As you and I also know, I\'ve been hurt by untrue rumors myself--so I would hate to put out something that wasn\'t true. Let me know, will you?
As far as your post goes, if you see Harvey Pack around, say hi for me.

[Mall]

Presumably, everyone understands that tracks do not hire good looking young women as announcers for their sheet reading skills. The young woman in question, moreover, never claimed she was an expert, saying only that she liked to look at the breeding info. Why, then, take pleasure in the fact that she lost her job?

Coincidentally, I think the answer lies in something Harvey Pack has been saying, tongue in cheek, for many yrs, that there are many races where he doesn\'t need to place a bet because he has a feud or grudge against the connections of all of the entrants, and the pleasure derived from the fact that all of them save one will lose is enough. It seems to me that there is a quite a bit of that kind of thinking among  handicappers, so I asked someone who has expertise in the field for his insights.

As expressed by the philosopher Schopenhauer, the thinking early on was that the presence of schadenfreude in a person\'s heart was a sign of evil. Some, including archbishop R.C. Trent, wrote that even having a word for the emotion was a sign that a culture was corrupt. More modern research indicates that envy is a potent predictor of schadenfreude, & that some feel better about themselves when another falters, often due to low self-esteem. Altogether, not the kind of emotion which is likely to help one achieve success in this most difficult of games.

[Friendly]

Mall,

Wow, you sure read a lot into that headline. I don\'t take any pleasure in the fact that she lost her job. I feel sorry for her more than anything. She was duped into giving free commercials in exchange for freebies by a knock-off pushing charlatan. She was not well liked by her co-workers, but I have nothing against her personally.

Jerry, JR.

[Friendly]

Hiya Jer,

I rarely attend the track right now so I really couldn\'t say. All the good players know the races are more formful in the Fall, right?

If you say the Rag guy takes one or two days off every week I\'ll take your word for it, though it would surprise me. Since you say it doesn\'t matter if he attends or not it doesn\'t make much sense whether your rumor is confirmed or not. Unless that is, maybe you agree with me that it is better to have someone watching the races live? Nah, couldn\'t be.

You really aren\'t going to assert that your guy watches most of the races live though, are you? He sits at his station selling the tickets all day and doesn\'t even face the track.

I\'m sorry to say I don\'t know Harvey Pack, though I have a great deal of respect for him. Wonder if people say the same about Jungle Jen?


Jerry, JR.

[Catalin]

Having watched talking heads at tracks throughout the country for the past 20 years I feel safe in saying that Jen Burke is one of the better ones.  

The NYRA crew, Julie Krone, Christine Gabriel, the dude at Calder, the stiffs at Philly Park doing the Claiming Crown? How about the twins from Beulah Park? Those folks never say anything of value (though I\'ll admit to being a charter member of the Felty twins fan club) and probably wouldn\'t know a TG or Ragozin sheet from a fitted sheet.  I\'d rank Brad Thomas and probably Caton Bredar above Jen Burke but I think it\'s a short list.

[mandown]

Jim/Jerry Jr or whoever

Your bile clouds your judgment, I am afraid. You put up a headline gloating over someone losing their job but then accuse Mall of reading a lot into it. Then, in trying to excuse your exposure of your own sad personality, you manage to heap more abuse on the poor woman: \'I feel sorry for her\', \'She was duped\', \'She was not well-liked by her co-workers.\' Well I bet those comments have made her feel a lot better. Mind you it\'s probably a good job you \'have nothing against her personally\' otherwise you would have done a real hatchet job.

I used to think you were an amusing diversion but taking pleasure in someone else\'s misfortune maybe shows you as a different person altogether. No doubt you like yourself but you\'re certainly making it difficult for others to.

If your postings here don\'t show the real you then I hope Ragozin pays you well for them. No man should sink so low for no reward.

[TGJB]

What makes you think Harvey said it tongue in cheek?

[TGJB]

This is great. Mall does the text, you do the illustrations.

[TGJB]

If you didn\'t exist I would have to invent you (and I keep waiting for someone to claim I have). I\'ve said right along that TV was fine (as long as you can get the wind, or get someone to get it for you)--it was you who suggested otherwise. Our trackman has his own TV at the track.

I can\'t imagine why anyone would think you have an agenda.

You have a lot of respect for Harvey Pack???

[Friendly]

You guys are really quite the paranoid, touchy lot, aren\'t you?

I say \"another graphie bites the dust\" and suddenly I\'m gloating, have low self-esteem, bitter, jealous, you name it. I wonder what you would have written if I said I was happy she got the boot? This cracks me up!

mandown, you are an especially vicious sort (my bile?). I do feel sorry for Jungle Jen and she was duped, but hopefully she learned a life lesson...lay down with dogs, you\'ll get up with fleas. I hope she\'s able to rebound from this and next time she doesn\'t compromise her job for a few freebies. Personally, she is not my cup of tea. I don\'t think she was very good at her job, obviously Gulfstream and their fans agree.

Keep your chins up folks, karma\'s a beeyotch.


Jerry, JR.

[Mall]

My impression, right or wrong, has always been that Harvey is all about getting laughs & describing horseplayers\' angst, nothing more & nothing less. After who knows how many yrs, I also admit to being touched by his comments at his last gig at Siro\'s, which he was well aware will probably be his last.

[mandown]

Jerry Jr

Thank you for your kind words but you really can\'t help yourself can you? Why does Ms Burke have to be \'Jungle\' Jen? Is this another way for you to show you \'have nothing against her personally?\' Although, wait a minute, maybe you do have something against her \'personally\' as you now write \'personally she was not my cup of tea. I don\'t think she was very good at her job . . . \'

For the record which is it? Personally speaking did you have nothing against her or was she not your cup of tea etc? And was your muddled thinking here typical of your logic or a one-off aberration?

Actually there\'s no need to answer that as your other posts have made it clear - along with an extremely unpleasant personality which, for some reason probably known only to your psychiatrist, seems obsessed with vilifying Jerry Brown. Surely the doctors have told you that your spiteful attacks on Jerry diminish you not him.

Doubtless you\'ll say you\'re not obsessed but then why beat up on Jen Burke? Her only \'crime\' seems to be that she has a connection with Jerry Brown but in your eyes that seems to make her fair game. Losing a job is never a pleasant experience. By publicising Ms. Burke\'s dimissal and gloating over it (what was the purpose of your original post if not for that?) you show yourself at best to be unfeeling, at worst totally obnoxious. If you know the lady I hope you will have the decency to apologise.

And, for the record, I think the comments about Harvey Pack are out of order, too. The argument should be about figures, not personalities.

Jungle Jerry, you are the missing link. Goodbye.

[TGJB]

I\'m not going into detail on this because it doesn\'t matter any more. But you could not be more wrong, and I don\'t just mean because his beahvior toward me. Ask any guest on his show what he was like when the camera was off.

[Friendly]

mandown, not only do I feel bad for Jungle Jen, but now I feel bad for you too. You take things way too seriously and seem to be a miserable individual.

Once again, I ask you to show me where I was gloating. That is a complete lie and a fabrication on your part. If you read anything into what I said it was your own fault.

Just because I don\'t like the way she does her job does not mean I have something against her personally. I think the same about Bill Clinton. Is this sinking in yet?
Because you like Letterman more than Leno, does that mean you have something personal against Leno? Only to the smallest extent imaginable. Unless you are a wacko, which I guess is a possibility in your case with the way you are carrying on.

Even though you have attacked me personally, I\'ll still accept your apology now that you understand the difference. It\'s nice to see others sticking up for Harvey Pack. Odd that you don\'t request an apology from Poppa Jerry.

Jerry, JR.